ABSTRACT
Philosophical reflection on the origins created a tradition of philosophical cosmology. Pythagoras, Plato, Aristotle, and a host of other philosophers have left detailed accounts of their opinions about the creation of the cosmos. Islamic tradition produces many philosophical cosmological schemes. This tradition looked at existence as so many manifestations of Divine Names. Though differentiable from one another, all of these cosmologies retain a central core derived from the basic Qur'anic data on the Beginning and the End. Thus, a systematic exposition of Islamic cosmology can be conceived as consisting of four distinct parts: sacred cosmology; philosophical cosmologies; illuminationist cosmology; and Islamic perspectives on modern cosmology. Based on the Qur'anic descriptions and the sayings of the Prophet, the cosmos was conceived by the early Muslim scholars as a hierarchical structure with the Throne at the highest limit and the Footstool below it. The Qur'an refers to itself as being recorded and preserved on the Guarded Tablet.
